Minnesota lawmaker shot to death at home will lie in state at Capitol ahead of funeral

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were gunned down in what authorities say was a politically motivated killing, will lie in state in the state Capitol Rotunda on Friday, a day ahead of their funeral, Gov. Tim Walz announced Tuesday.

Hortman, a Democrat, will be the first woman and one of fewer than 20 Minnesotans accorded the honor.

The Hortmans were shot to death in their home in the northern Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park early June 14. Before that, authorities say, the gunman wounded another Democrat, Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, who lived a few miles away in Champlin.

The Hortmans’ golden retriever, Gilbert, who was seriously wounded in the attack and had to be euthanized, will lie in state with them. The public can pay their respects at the Capitol from noon to 5 p.m. Friday.

A private funeral is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. A livestream will be available on the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s YouTube channel.

Unsealed documents provide new details

Federal prosecutors allege the man charged in the shootings, Vance Boelter, also stopped that night at the homes of two other Democratic lawmakers, who have identified themselves as Sen. Ann Rest, of New Hope, and Rep. Kristin Bahner, of Maple Grove. Prosecutors also say he had dozens of other Democrats as potential targets, including officials in other states.

State investigators seized 48 guns from Boelter’s home in Green Isle, including 20 rifles, 19 handguns, nine shotguns, two tubs of extra magazines and ammunition, a notecard with the names of public officials, and $17,940 in cash, according to search warrant documents unsealed Friday. They also found a duffel containing five body bags at a storage locker that Boelter had rented in Minneapolis.

A separate FBI agent’s affidavit describes how law enforcement stopped Boelter’s wife as she traveled with her four children north of the Twin Cities in Onamia on the day of the shootings. She told investigators that Boelter texted her and their children that they needed to get out of their house.

“Boelter and his wife had been ‘preppers,’ or people who prepare for major or catastrophic incidents,” the affidavit said. “At some point, Boelter had given his wife a ‘bailout plan’ — i.e., a plan of where to go in case of exigent circumstances — to go her mother’s residence in Spring Brook, Wisconsin.”

She consented to a search of her vehicle, and law enforcement found a safe, passports for all their kids and him, at least $10,000 in cash, and two handguns, the affidavit said. She has not been charged.

Boelter could face the death penalty

Boelter surrendered near his home more than 40 hours after the shooting, following what authorities have called the largest search in Minnesota history. He is charged in both state and federal court with murder and other counts. His next court appearance is Friday.

Boelter’s federal defenders have declined to comment on the allegations. He remains jailed and has not entered a plea.

A lifelong friend, David Carlson, told The Associated Press last week that Boelter had been struggling to find work and was wrestling with a “darkness that was inside of him.” He said Boelter did not hold back when it came to his distaste for Democrats but that he never seemed threatening or talked to him about any of the officials whom he allegedly targeted.

Two of the six federal counts against Boelter, 57, can carry the death penalty, which Minnesota abolished in 1911.

The chief prosecutor for Hennepin County, Mary Moriarty, is moving forward separately in state court and plans to seek an indictment for first-degree murder, which would carry a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Bipartisan tributes in Washington for the lawmakers who were shot

In Washington on Monday, members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation paid a bipartisan tribute to the Hortmans and Hoffmans before they observed a moment of silence on the House floor.

“She knew how to get things done and she did it with determination, respect and pragmatism,” said Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison. “She built bridges across the aisle and she kept her diverse caucus together to usher through some of the most consequential legislation in our state’s history.”

Hortman, who was first elected in 2004, helped pass an expansive agenda of liberal initiatives like free lunches for public school students in 2023 as the chamber’s speaker, along with expanded protections for abortion and trans rights. With the House split 67-67 between Democrats and Republicans this year, she yielded the gavel to a Republican under a power-sharing deal, took the title speaker emerita, and helped break a budget impasse that threatened to shut down state government.

“There is no place in our country for politically motivated violence. None,” Republican Majority Whip Tom Emmer said. “The fact that the Hortman and Hoffman families are being forced to endure the consequences of inexplicable evil is heartbreaking, devastating and infuriating for us all. But it is through tragedies like this that we are reminded that we are stronger together.”